It’s a constant effort – but well worth it!

We include Postage on the Terms page and also when you add to the basket.

Creating the mobile site first is always a good idea, especially if you are intending to use Responsive Design.

On the flip side, if you are intending to build a separate site (with mobile redirect etc.) then you can get away with doing this second & just basing it off the core functionality.

Either way, it never hurts to plan ahead!

Sue Atkins
Author of “Raising Happy Children for Dummies” and the Parenting Made Easy App

Many thanks for the comprehensive reply!

We also liked the report and I for one am really excited about seeing the Town Center start buzzing again (i’m working on a follow up blog post!).

Ealing council sounds amazing and I am sure that they are doing exactly what Mary is suggesting for the whole UK.

I guess the question about the managers is down to who pays, should the cost be passed back to the retailers who will end up benefiting or should we all contribute somehow? My take was that she actually wanted the decision makers come together and not to hire a new paid person/team but the BBC article made it sound like she was suggesting appointing new people. (She actually said “Put in place a “Town Team”: a visionary, strategic and strong operational management team for high streets”)

i’d love to see markets – but as Ted said they (for me) would need to be more than the usual crafts/farmer markets.

Thanks again for your post.

Thanks for your comments!

I agree that a really good council staffed with people working hard on behalf of local businesses is a good thing. I also think it’s, sadly, a very rare thing. The fact is that the retail sector is in decline and local businesses are going under – there are many factors at work of course, but when Mary Portas is told she should have consulted the councils it annoys me because it seems like they’re perhaps just a little bit jealous!

Hounslow Council has secured funding (the work of its town centre manager)for a support scheme to help local businesses in some its town centres. These are just two examples that I have first hand experience of.

Yes parking charges are a huge issue and business rates can also be a problem but those are set by central government not local councils.

I think you are wrong about High St or town centre managers, good ones are well worth their salaries. They pull retailers and other business owners together, they instigate collaborative working and marketing campaigns, they can negotiate deals on services that save the businesses money and they represent the business’ interests with the council & other interested parties.

I have been involved in setting up a market as part of a town centre regeneration (I’m a trainer & marketer not a town centre manager!)and it is not easy. Farmers’ markets & specialists don’t work everywhere and it is now difficult for market traders to compete with the budget retailers but markets can provide some vibrancy to a town centre and can be a focus for other activities to generate increased footfall.

I think that overall Mary’s report has offered some useful ideas.